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Opinions

Opinions

Hudson '14: Struggle and growth

Struggle: The word evokes famous phrases, including “no pain, no gain,” and “there are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going.” Accompanying these sayings are stories of individuals who pushed through failure to achieve success. These stories include those of Michael Jordan, who was cut from ...


Opinions

Letter: Gun control discussion must consider all sides

To the Editor: I was heartened to see Andrew Powers’ ’15 column (“Common-sense gun control,” Feb. 4) printed in The Herald. Before today, I have found the columns in The Herald since the Newtown tragedy regarding gun control decidedly one-sided. Whatever one’s views are on any subject, it ...


Opinions

Editorial: That textbook comes to zero dollars

At the beginning of each semester, students begrudgingly trudge to the Brown Bookstore to pay an exorbitant price to purchase textbooks for their classes. Many others, looking to save money, resort to purchasing books through online retailers like Amazon, where they often revel in having saved money ...


Opinions

Hartheimer '14: In rationis speramus

In an oversized bold font, at the top of Brown’s Spiritual and Religious Life website, it is affirmed, “A nonsectarian institution, Brown embraces all spiritual traditions and celebrates the diversity of religious identity on campus.” Considering this forthright affirmation of religious neutrality, ...


Opinions

Fuerbacher ’14: Keeping up with the Congress

Imagine you are earning a handsome salary, attending soirees in the most exciting cities and gracing television screens and newspapers regularly. The best part is that you do not need to apply an established skill set or engage in rigorous thought, as your assistants do most of the preparation and analysis ...


Opinions

Letter: Grade inflation may hinder learning

To the Editor: In his recent column, Ian Eppler ’13 is not so much defending inflated grades as he is defending the circumstances he believes naturally led to them (“In defense of grade inflation,” Jan. 31). What is missing is a discussion of whether inflation itself is problematic. Universities ...


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Powers '15: Common-sense gun control

In the aftermath of a multiple-victim shooting, there often sounds a call to take up arms. Well, perhaps it’s more of a call to take away arms. Whenever the media sensationalizes these tragedies, the phrase “common-sense gun control” is tossed around to marginalize dissenters as no more than heartless ...


Opinions

Mills '15: In defense of athletics — and athletes

In my time at Brown, I have sometimes noticed a culture in which athletes are perceived in an unflattering light. In The Herald I’ve read stories about “the jock stereotype” (“Athletes struggle against ‘dumb jock’ stereotype,” April 24, 2012) and claims that athletics are overfunded or ...


Opinions

Letter: Inviting King to lecture offensive to student

To the Editor: As a student and alum of Brown University, I am disappointed by the Office of Institutional Diversity’s decision to invite Bernice King to give the Jan. 30 Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture under the title of “Advancing the ‘Dream’: Addressing Social Equity Issues to Eliminate ...


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Taking Sides: Should students take unpaid internships?

Dreschler '15: Yes Every year around this time, students descend into applications for that three-syllable word that makes most of us shutter with dread: internships. For many, that means brushing the dust off resumes, updating cover letters with over-exaggerated examples of leadership and calling ...


Opinions

Editorial: Calling for financial fairness

Under current policy, international, transfer and Resumed Undergraduate Education students are admitted on a need-aware basis, in which ability to pay is considered in deciding whether students should be admitted. While financial aid is a familiar issue, as President Christina Paxson begins to shape ...


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Katz '14: The need for real conversation on gun control

On January 7, Austin-based talk radio host Alex Jones excitedly claimed, “1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms,” during his appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight. While this comment was certainly entertaining — I highly recommend watching the entire clip on YouTube — what struck ...


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Eppler '13: In defense of grade inflation

Everyone seems to understand grade inflation to be real and to be a problem. Websites are devoted to tracking the average grade point averages at colleges and universities and shaming the universities that the sites’ owners consider to be the worst offenders. Last year, the Brown Conversation devoted ...


Opinions

Editorial: 2013 — the new 1963

In 1644, eight years after Roger Williams founded the colony of Providence Plantations, he composed an essay titled “A Plea for Religious Liberty” in his great opus The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, for Cause of Conscience, Discussed in a Conference between Truth and Peace. “All civil states,” ...


Opinions

Moffat '13: Fight for your right to part ... icipate

There is an insidious form of institutionalized discrimination written into our Constitution, and it affects virtually every student at the University. Young people under the age of 35 — nearly half of the citizens in the United States — do not enjoy the full benefits of enfranchisement: We are ...


Opinions

Corvese '15: A call for ethical media

The tragedy of the Sandy Hook massacre not only opened American eyes to policy and social issues affecting our nation, but it also illuminated some of the shoddy inner workings of the mechanism that shared this information with us in the first place: the media. Through news websites, Twitter, Facebook ...


Opinions

Asher '15: The gun mandate

When innocent people are killed in a burst of gun violence, gun control rhetoric can never be far behind. It is only natural then, that the latest mass shooting in America’s sordid history — the Sandy Hook massacre — has prompted some of the most heated debate over gun legislation in recent memory. ...


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Shaw ’13: Tearing ACLs and breaking heart after heart

A lot can change in the matter of a month. Here I was, preparing to invite the New York Knicks to the big boy club after rattling off multiple impressive victories over playoff-caliber teams, when their 20-point beat down of the reigning champ Miami Heat (that’s an incredibly ugly four words) signaled ...


Opinions

Enriquez '16: Success and life's 80 percent

As an alum of Gap Year University and a current humble first-year at Brown, I have experienced two wildly different years since I graduated from high school. Last year was full of real world experiences like job applications, fifty-hour workweeks, Craigslist roommate searches, grocery runs and rental ...




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